Louder Than Words
by Shsl-Detective-Kyoko-Kirigiri
Summary: Silence is golden, And the quote rings true. In the midst of death and time can Arthur find solace in a boy who never speaks? Historical/Human AU, Human names used.


_And time raced by, swallowing both boys, And the midst of its confusion, Francis found himself growing deeply Enamored with the British boy. _

Historical AU, Human names used. Set during the Medieval inquisitons, Papal.

Human names used:

Kiku: Japan  
Yong Soo: S. Korea  
Yao: China  
Mei: Taiwan  
Leon: Hong Kong  
Mathias: Denmark  
Lukas: Norway  
Francis: France  
Arthur: England 

* * *

_1_

Arthur strolled down the street, Hoping to just get home already. His mother had forced him to go outside, he had been locked up in his house for about a week already, But who could blame him? Almost daily there were houses being abandoned as more and more people were being tortured. Most, if not all the time, nobody returned.

He stopped in front of 2 abandoned homes.

On the left was Kiku's home, His entire family had been tortured and either died or were sentenced to life imprisonment, They had been practicing Buddhism and refused to conform to Catholicism.

On the right stood Alfred's. Alfred was Arthur's friend, Well, his only friend. Someone had had enough of the self-proclaimed "Heroes" attitude and reported him for heresy to the catholic church. Arthur attended his public torture, he had died during a particularly nasty method.

_Better to be alone, It seems_

He was suddenly knocked out of his stupor by a body crashing into his at a full speed, which led to him unceremoniously falling onto his ass. He looked up to see a frightened looking blonde boy, about his age, with shoulder length hair tied into a ribbon, and eyes a sky blue.

The boy reached a trembling hand towards him, and Arthur grabbed it, a "Thank you" leaving his lips. Though as soon as their hands touched, the boy pulled back as if shocked, then turned and ran the direction from which he came.

England shot up after the boy, screaming profanities all the way through. He stopped after the boy turned a corner and disappeared.

Deciding it was futile to try and teach the brat a lesson in proper manners , He trudged the rest of the way home. It was getting late anyway.

It wasn't as if he'd see the boy again

But if he did, The guy would have hell to pay.

Francis leaned against the Alley wall, breathing heavily. He couldn't explain it but as soon as he touched that boys hand he knew.

"Mon Dieu" He breathed

Francis has always been a bit of a coward, so obviously the second he felt that damn shock he hauled ass.

Either way, He fucked up.

There was no way he'd see that boy again

_2_

It had been 7 days with no sight of the other boy. Francis was slightly thankful for that, he wasn't sure if he could sit through another meeting with the Brit. He had hoped that the week prior would be the first and last meeting they would ever have.

Of course, most hopes die in the end, because he found himself roughly pulled back by the collar into an alleyway. The same one he ran to a week ago, he noted.

As soon as the coast was clear of people, the Brit turned on him. "You bloody git! Did your parents not teach you proper manners?!"

Francis gulped, Unable to let the words leave his lips. He stayed silent.

Though this response, or lack thereof, seemed to fuel the Brit's rage."Can you not speak?" He spat.

Francis shook his head, though immediately regretting his decision, it was the only thing he could think of at the moment.

The Brit's face immediately softened, and he spoke once more "Oh..Sorry for the confusion then, I'm Arthur Kirkland, Do you have a name"

Feeling stupider by the second, Francis bent down and traced his finger into the dirt below, Spelling his name.

Arthur followed his finger with his eyes. "Francis, huh?" He chuckled "Follow me, will you? I got something to show you"

Francis got up and followed

They arrived at a grassy hill, Sheltered from the world by a Canopy of trees, The sunlight filtering through the leaves, creating patches of light and dark scattered along the ground. It was nothing short of beautiful.

Arthur sat down on the grass, and Francis followed suit.

They sat in silence for a while, Until Arthur spoke up. "Sorry, Again. Didn't have any idea you were mute"

_Yeah, Neither did I._ Francis thought, Unsure of just what he had gotten himself into.

Arthur Continued. "So whats it like being mute, It's hard, I'd imagine".

Francis Nodded

"So how old are you? You look about 18, My age"

Francis held up two fingers on each hand, _22._

"Dear god, Are you serious? I could have sworn you were younger!" The shock was evident in Arthur's voice.

After that, It stood silent. And before either knew it, Night had fallen, and it was time to part ways.

Before they left, they promised to meet up the next day. (Well, Really it was a "Meet me here again tomorrow morning" and a nod)

_3_

Soon there was no need for promises, They just met up at the same place. Days blurred past, And soon melded into weeks, which in turn, grew into months.

And time raced by, swallowing both boys, And the midst of its confusion, Francis found himself growing deeply Enamored with the Brit. Every touch would send his heart racing a thousand beats per second. Even though he knew it would be short lived. He couldn't keep the secret that he wasn't in fact, A mute, Forever. At least he could enjoy the time while it lasted.

Meanwhile Arthur felt amazed to have a true friend. Though all of the speaking was done on his part, for obvious reasons, and Arthur couldn't be more thrilled. His only other friend was a Norwegian boy named Lukas, but he was almost always off with a Danish teen named Mathias. Needless to say, It got lonely. And now that Francis was a part of his life, Arthur was the happiest he could ever remember being.

They're time together was good, Great even.

_4_

But as the story is told, All good things must come to an end.

And that end found itself in the form of a rainy spring day, Francis found it fit to not meet up with Arthur that day, they had done that on many rainy days before. So needless to say, He was surprised when a series of knocks on the door woke him from his sleep (Nobody ever came around). And even more surprised when he found a Hysterical, Drenched British boy at his doorstep.

"Get dressed, now" Was all he said in greeting.

Francis knew _something_ was wrong, so he complied with Arthur's wishes without a second thought

He was dragged along by the boy until they reached their destination. By the time they reached the hill Francis was drenched. He silently offered to let Arthur in, But Arthur insisted that they come to where they usually meet. So he did so.

They found some shelter under a tree.

They sat in silence for what felt like hours but what could have been minutes until Arthur finally spoke up. "He's dead"

Francis whipped his head to face the boy, In the form of the silent questions they were both used to. _Who?_

"L-Lukas. He's dead, and….I couldn't do anything"

_Who's Lukas?_

"My f-friend. He and the Dane, Both executed."

_For what?_

"Accused of witchcraft and sodomy, Francis, I had to watch"

Francis didn't need to hear anymore before the pulled the Brit into an embrace, And the rain didn't lessen.

When he let go, Arthur had fallen asleep.

When Arthur had awoken, the silence had resumed once more. The only sound that could be heard was the cracking of the thunder. Francis watched the lightning pierce the sky.

The lightning was growing more frequent, Francis grew more worried. Maybe they should go. But Arthur just stared straight ahead.

Arthur sneezed. Francis felt his trepidation grow with each passing second.

Francis squeezed his eyes shut, Maybe it was all just a figment of his imagination and nothing more.

_Je_

Francis calmed down just a little bit. Yes, It was all just passing fear. His mind was playing tricks on him.

They would be okay. They would definitely be okay.

_T'aime_

A sound akin to thunder cracked above them. Arthur didn't seem to be fazed, Francis turned his head upward and could only watch as a branch broke off the tree and came tumbling down.

_Arthur_

A voice he barely recognized as his own came ripping from his throat. "_Merde!_ Arthur look out!"

This seemed to break Arthur out of his trance, as he scrambled out of the way before the branch hit the ground, creating a splash that hit both of them. Though it was not the water that chilled either of them to the bone.

Arthur could not believe his ears. He didn't _want_ to believe.

Francis _couldn't_ have been lying to him all this time? Could he?

Arthur stood up, Francis only watched, all color seemed to be drained from his face. "You…you can speak?"

Francis nodded. "_Oui"_

Arthur stepped back, shocked. This couldn't be happening. "So..you….lied to me"

Francis looked up at Arthur "_Oui_, Arthur i'm sorry, Please let me explain"

Arthur turned on his heel and ran, he didn't know where he was going, but he just needed to leave.

Arthur stopped in front of the local church.

Maybe it was the emotions, the _anger_ letting itself out of him. But with shaky breaths and what he thought were steady steps, he stepped inside and asked for a priest.

_5_

Today was the day of the "execution", It was really just a torture, but with the amount of people that died during the process, it was only fit to be dubbed an execution. The trial was nothing more than a series of questions that Francis didn't answer, he remained silent through it all (Oh, the irony).

Francis hadn't seen Arthur since that rainy day, and someone from the church knocked on his door to inform him of the charges pressed against him, he knew it was the Brit who had done it.

He still Loved Arthur though. So he played along, it wasn't as if there would be any chance of reconciliation if he lived. If Arthur so happened to forgive him, he would still be weighed down by the guilt at what he had done. There was simply no future for them.

As he was placed in the stocks he looked around, most people who tipped someone off would come to see the execution. He locked eyes with Arthur and smiled.

_6_

Arthur couldn't take it anymore. Francis had stayed silent for most of the ordeal, but screams were now being ripped from his throat until he could not scream anymore. And Arthur had screwed his eyes shut once the Frenchman's blood began to spill.

All the other ones he witnessed were nothing like this. He stayed stone faced as he watched Alfred bleed out and die in the same place where Francis stood. He never once shut his eyes or covered his ears as he watched Lukas be whipped and burned, or when he heard Mathias screaming Lukas' name over and over. Not even when the Dane had his turn.

_7_

**_"STOP!"_** A voice unknown to Arthur rang out through the square "He's had enough! Just leave him to die, It will be over soon enough"

The stock was opened and Francis fell to the floor, still breathing.

Arthur felt his heart stop, there was still time.

_8_

Arthur stayed behind until the square was void of anyone but him and Francis, and once it was, He ran to the other boy.

As soon as he reached Francis, the apologies flowed out of his mouth lie water out of a broken dam. "I-i'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking, I never meant for this to happen"

He hadn't realized that he had been crying until Francis raised a bloody hand to his face, to wipe away the tears. (A shame that the action only made them come harder)

"It's okay _mon cher_, I forgive you"

Francis coughed, blood splattering onto the floor.

"And Arthur..Before I go, there's something I need to say"

Arthur nodded, He didn't trust himself to speak at the moment.

Francis grabbed his hand, Arthur held firm.

"_Je T'Aime, _Arthur"

His words were a poison, but maybe he could stand the toxins, At least for a couple seconds. "What does that mean, Francis?"

"_I"_

_A cough_

_"Love"_

_A tear_

_"You"_

And all to suddenly the light disappeared from Francis' eyes, his skin grew cold and his hand went limp.

And the sky opened up

Arthur did what he did best, ran away. The rain blinded him much like that day, though this time was different. His heart felt heavier, he was weighed down with guilt and sorrow and another emotion he couldn't name.

_I love you too, Francis_

_9_

_1 year later_

Days were bleak, melded together by dates he never remembered, Dates he didn't _want_ to remember anymore. He did nothing with his life, he couldn't find the will to do anything with his life.

He missed Francis

He still visited the hill every day though. It was an unspoken promise.

_10_

_4 years later_

He was 22 now (or at least he assumed, birth dates passed like regular days anymore), And it was raining.

That didn't stop him from visiting the hill though.

He sat under a tree, and stared straight forward. Sometimes he could picture Francis sitting next to him, enjoying their time together. Sometimes he pictured Francis lying in a heap on the ground, breathing his last breaths, with an orchestra of shrieks flowing around them. Sometimes he pictured nothing at all.

_Francis_

Maybe things would be different if he hadn't have gone to the church that day

_I_

Yeah, Things would definitely be different

_Love_

If he hadn't have gone that day they would be together now, Happy.

_You_

A sound akin to a bomb came from above, Arthur was unfazed. He knew what would happen next.

_Too_

And he welcomed it with open arms.

_10_

_Febuary 5th, 2014_

France was beautiful in the winter, Arthur had heard. And it had been correct.

The people so far had been nice, and Arthur knew French, so it was no difficulty getting around with people. The only thing Arthur didn't know was _France_. He desperately needed a tour guide.

He jumped when a hand clasped onto his shoulder, and a disembodied voice spoke "You look a little lost, would you let me show you around?"

He turned to see the owner of the voice. A blonde man that looked to be in his 20s, His long hair was tied with a ribbon and his eyes reflected the sky.

A "Sure, thank you" left his mouth before his mind even caught up, and he found himself following the blond man.

"Great! My name is Francis Bonnefoy". He started to pull Arthur along.

"Arthur Kirkland" Arthur muttered, trying to keep up with the Frenchman's pace.

They stopped at a couple places while Francis explained the history behind the landmarks.

Finally the tour was near its end, and Francis promised to stop at one more place before he let Arthur go.

They arrived at a grassy hill, Sheltered from the world by a Canopy of trees, The sunlight filtering through the leaves, creating patches of light and dark scattered along the ground. It was nothing short of beautiful.

"The significance behind this place is a tragic tale really, even though not much is known about it. During the Medieval Inquisition, Papal i think. 2 Lovers would always meet on this hill. One of them was convicted of Heresy, and was executed. After the execution the one who still lived came to this hill every day. During a thunderstorm a branch fell from one of these trees and struck the one who was still living. Well-" Francis chuckled "He wasn't living after that"

"I've heard of it" Arthur mused "Some say that the lovers were both male, and that they never even got together because it was forbidden"

Francis beamed. "Considering it was so long ago i doubt anyone would know the true details unless it was set in stone somewhere." He rubbed at a mark on his neck, It looked suspiciously like a whip mark, Arthur noted.

Francis noticed his staring. "Ah this? It's a birthmark, weird isn't it?"

Arthur smiled. "Not really, I have one that covers almost my entire back"

Francis laughed, a real one, As if he'd known Arthur for years. "Yours is definitely weirder than mine…" He trailed off and stared at the setting sun "You know I think about that story a lot, How they never found true happiness. I think that maybe they got reincarnated, found each other once more and fell in love all over again. And maybe they'd live happily"

Arthur mulled the thought over in his head, true love did deserve a second chance. "Yeah, maybe"

_They'd be happy this time_

Arthur didn't mind when a hand was placed over his own. Nor did he mind when a kiss was placed on his cheek.

_God does wonderful things._

* * *

Death count: 10 (Kiku, Yao, Yong Soo, Mei, Leon, Alfred, Mathias, Lukas, Francis, Arthur)

Sorry if i messed up on some facts, but i needed to write a historical AU. And i've literally actually been sitting on this plot bunny for 2 years. Just got around to writing about it last week.

Anyway you're free to tell me how it was. And if i messed up any kind of facts tell me and i'll try to fix em.

And things to explain since my writing style is filled with death and confusion:

1) The ending was supposed to be based on episode 15 of the beautiful world, Where he meets Jeanne D'Arc's reincarnation

2) This is seriously heavily implied on reincarnation. The shock he felt in the beginning bc they were lovers in a past life meeting again and all that jazz.

3) Reason that France didn't speak was bc he was afraid of scaring Arthur off, plus he knew if he spoke Arthur would end up hating him as he does in the show.

4) Reason behind the last sentence of the above statement is bc i used to be told "People would like me better if i never spoke" so i applied that to France's situation with England

5) Ameripan was canon in this. So was RoChu. Don't ask me why or how it just was.


End file.
